Twin Heroes
by Mariposa Prime
Summary: REPOSTED! Robin's identical twin sister joins up when they form Young Justice. How does Blue Jay handle being a part of the team? If I get bad reviews this time, I close down ALL my stories FOR GOOD, so keep your complaints to yourself!
1. Prologue

I have a poll on my profile page asking a question I really want to have answered. I'm trying to get as many answers as I can, and very few people visit my profile. I've gotten literally one answer in a week, and that's sad. Please answer, and be honest about it.

* * *

 **I only own my OC's, AND this OC is _NOT_ trans! she is 100% female!**

* * *

Key

"Dialogue"

" _Telepathic Communication_ "

' _My thoughts, Twin Telepathy_ '

' _Dick's thoughts, Twin Telepathy_ '

* * *

Prologue

I stretch tiredly and look out over the city. Seems like a slow night—no crime, and hardly any life at all. It's a rare peaceful night in Gotham City.

"Rach?"

I turn to look at my twin brother. We're thirteen years old and both former acrobats. What's more, a DNA test Bruce did only proved that a genetic miracle lived in Haly's Traveling Circus: mixed gender identical twins.

"You all right over here?"

"Just tired." A shared yawn interrupts our thoughts. Normally I would giggle, but I'm too tired to even think right now.

"You excited about tomorrow?"

"Ask me once I've had some sleep."

My brother, Dick, laughs softly, causing our guardian to glare at us from the other side of the roof.

' _If I had to choose, I'd take Bruce any day over Batman._ '

Before I continue, my name is Rachel Grayson, and my brother's name is Richard. Until we were nine, the two of us were acrobats, traveling in Haly's Circus with our parents, Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin as the Flying Grayson's. Then came the fateful day when Tony Zucco sabotaged our act, leaving our parents, aunt, and cousin dead and Uncle Rick unable to care for us. We were sent to an orphanage, where Bruce Wayne soon took us to his _mansion_. I'm not kidding. The place is _huge_. I seriously felt out of place, and I could tell Dick did too, but it was nice to be out of that orphanage. A couple months later, we helped bring our family's killer to justice as Robin and Blue Jay under Batman's wing.

Dick and I were soon trained, and got costumes that match our bird-themes—at least in color. My costume is a blue sleeveless mid-thigh length dress with a black and light blue 'B' on the left shoulder, blue leggings, blue boots, blue gloves with a computer in the right glove, a black domino mask, and a black cape with a blue lining. I have my normal pigtails pulled together in the back with a blue scrunchie, and the ends are secured with blue hair ties as well. Dick's costume is a red closed vest with a black and yellow 'R' on the left shoulder, a black t-shirt, black leggings, black boots, black gloves with a computer in the left glove, black cape with a yellow lining, and a black domino mask.

Now, Dick and I have rooms across from each other—we couldn't _bear_ to be apart when Bruce first took us in, hence the DNA test that proved the fact most would think of as freaky. Now, Dick's got two best friends in Roy and Wally, and I spend a lot of my free time singing, being more of a lone wolf—like Batman. Weren't for my fear of bats, I'd be in the Batcave almost every day. Bruce once told me that's _why_ he became Batman—well, actually, he became Batman because his parents were killed, but he _chose_ the name Batman because he was scared of bats.

Honestly, I like being sidekick to Batman, and I wouldn't have it any other way, but sometimes his personality _sucks_. I mean, seriously, I think _dishwater_ has more personality than he does.

I smile slightly. "Yeah, Dick, I am. I finally get to see the Hall."

He smirks. "We've been to the Watchtower."

"Rarely." I deadpan, "Get back to your post, birdbrain." I laugh under my breath. ' _Dick's nowhere near being a birdbrain. He's a prodigy, and I know he is, because I am too. It's just fun to pick on my slightly older brother._ '

* * *

"Let's head home."

Dick and I share a tired look before pulling out our grapple guns simultaneously.

Once on the ground, I stretch before climbing into the Batmobile.

"Tired, Rach?"

"No duh, Dick." I sigh. "Let's get home so I can get to bed."


	2. Independence Day

BeautifulLover: Yes, I did. It's possible for XX/XX or XY/XY. XY/XY sometimes winds up as X/XY, or a sterile girl and intact boy. Going from that, if you have XX/XY, it's the same as the first oddity, except an intact girl and an intact boy, they just haven't tested any because most people assume that boy/girl twins are just automatically "fraternal". I share this theory with more than one person.

Bruiser: I COULD add the superpowers I use in my other stories, but this being a story based in Gotham and Batman's reaction to "supers" in many stories (I don't know if that's cannon or not), I found it prudent to not use the powers. I may change my mind later and add them in some way, but you'll have keep reading to find out.

Guest: She is a genetically normal female, meaning XX chromosomes. She will not be trans, as she is my self-insert and _I_ am not trans. I usually do a self-insert with my stories.

xXrobinXx: I have been through a lot lately, and I felt forced to delete a story before because of the horrible reviews I got. They seem intent on bullying through reviews and it physically hurt that they judged my work like that... I plan to keep writing, it's just up in the air on whether I keep my fanfiction account open. Writing is my escape.

Abby: The bad reviews were people ranting at me about "DC sucks "on EVERY chapter, or this one person who kept complaining, through guest reviews and his own profile, that my theory is "impossible" and not listening to the science I researched extensively before writing this story. I also had people complaining about the "believability" of this story because I wrote XX/XY identical twins.

* * *

Fraternal twins are just normal siblings born at the same time. There is nothing really interesting besides that, since they do not have that close connection that identical twins can have. They are from two separate eggs. These run in families. I would know, they run in my own. They can be XX XY, XX XX, or XY XY. They do not share any more DNA than siblings born at separate times.

Identical twins come from one egg, but if that egg has XXXY or XXY rather than XXXX or XYXY, things happen. XXXX becomes XX/XX, or two girls. XYXY becomes XY/XY, or two boys. XXY would become X/XY, or a sterile girl and intact boy. The theory is that XXXY becomes XX/XY, or intact girl and intact boy, but from one egg, meaning "identical". They share most of their DNA, but still can have enough separate to be counted as different people.

Conjoined twins share limbs/organs. Separation surgeries can be dangerous, and can end in death of one or more child. These can even share the same brain at times (believe me, I've seen the pictures, and if you don't believe me, look it up).

* * *

I have a poll on my profile page asking a question I really want to have answered. I'm trying to get as many answers as I can, and very few people visit my profile. I've gotten literally one answer in a week, and that's sad. Please answer, and be honest about it.

* * *

I do have a story with Wally having a twin in the works, but they'll take a while, because they haven't even started their planning phase. MY SELF-INSERT CHARACTER (all my stories have one) will be Whitney May West, Hero name Whirlwind.

I also have an idea of having M'gann have a twin sister (as twins are common on Mars) named Mari Morse (and if you want to give me a Martian-sounding alternative, tell me in a PM because I have NO idea what to use for it!) I still need to come up with a hero name as well, but I haven't gotten started on "Whirlwind" yet, so this one will take a while.

* * *

 **I only own my OC's!**

* * *

Key

"Dialogue"

" _Telepathic Communication_ "

' _My thoughts, Twin Telepathy_ '

' _Dick's thoughts, Twin Telepathy_ '

* * *

Independence Day

 **GOTHAM CITY**

Families are celebrating the fourth of July in the city park, when several people start running and screaming after the sound of some kind of beam firing. A woman is literally frozen in her tracks, followed by several others.

A man in a helmet and black thermal protection suit Mr. Freeze steps up to the edge of a cliff overlooking the park. "Enjoying family time?" He fires his ice blaster at the family closest to him. "My family has other plans." He slides down the ice and prepares to fire again, when a boomerang of some kind hits him. "Batman. I was wondering when—"

Laughter sounds in the distance, then Robin lands on the confused man's head jumps off to the ground. I do a handstand on Robin's hands before jumping off and pulling a triple flip. I land beside Robin. We then fling a handful of explosive bird-a-rangs each, only cracking the man's helmet.

"Oh. Twin Wonders. The Bat sent you two to drag me off to prison? Frankly, I'm underwhelmed."

"Great, but we're kind of in a hurry here." Robin emphasizes our point by waving his arm animatedly.

"Yeah, Freezie. We've got something important we're supposed to be doing!"

"Kids. Always in such a rush."

"Not talking to you."

I groan. "Stop stealing the cheesy lines, Rob!"

"You gotta be quicker on the uptake, Jay."

I roll my eyes. "You've been spending _way_ too much time with Kid Flash."

Batman suddenly comes over the ridge and almost blacks out the sun with his cape before landing and punching through Mr. Freeze's helmet.

* * *

 **STAR CITY**

Roy jumps off the top of a bridge support and covers the road with ice upon landing unharmed and creating an ice formation, causing cars to flip and crash. He laughs evilly as several arrows pierce the formation. When he turns to look at the formation, another arrow pierces his icy shoulder. He turns to look at it seconds before it explodes. He then turns and finds two archers on the top of the bridge supports. "Finally. I was wondering what a guy had to do to get a little attention around here." He covers his arm in ice and fires it as ice spears.

"Junior's doing this for attention?" Roy asks. He and his mentor run to the suspension cables and slide down, dodging ice blasts. "I'm telling you now, this little distraction better not interfere."

Icicle Jr. creates an ice shield before more arrows strike their target. He fires more ice spears at the red clad teen, but he simply jumps over them before firing another arrow, shattering the criminal's jaw.

Green Arrow laughs. "Kid had a glass jaw."

"Hilarious. Can we go? Today's the day."

* * *

 **PEARL HARBOR**

A young woman is firing ice blasts at Aquaman. He dodges several before being frozen in one. A teen flips over him before he breaks free. "Don't tell me you're not excited."

"Right now, my king, I'm more focused of the matter at hand." He dodges several blasts, then activates his water-bearers and hardens the water into two maces. The woman freezes them, and he uses the frozen-together maces in an uppercut, sending her into the air and freeing his hands. She falls to her back with a grunt, and he retracts the hardened water. Now only holding handles, he replaces them before turning to his ruler and mentor.

"Well?"

"Yes, I'm excited. Today's the day."

* * *

 **CENTRAL CITY**

Two speedsters are racing around a fourth ice-villain—one in solid red, and one in yellow and red. The villain can't even get a hit, they're going so fast.

"Stealing ice? Seriously? Isn't that a bit cliché, even for Captain Cold?"

"Come on. We don't have time for this." The kid pulls down his goggles and winds up getting nailed on the right shoulder. He doesn't let that phase him, though, and he quickly grabs the criminal's ice blaster before skidding to a stop. The man looks at his empty hand and growls right before being tackled by the Flash.

"Calm down, Kid."

"Oh, please. You'll chat it up with the cops, with bystanders…with Cold, even. No. No way. Today is the day."

* * *

 **WASHINGTON D.C.**

Robin, Batman, Green Arrow, Speedy, Aqualad, Aquaman, and I are all standing outside the hall of justice.

Batman rests one hand on Robin's shoulder and his other on my shoulder. "Today's the day."

Green Arrow speaks up next. "Welcome to the Hall of Justice."

Aquaman finishes. "Headquarters of the Justice League."

"Oh, man." The Flash and Kid Flash run up then. "I knew we'd be the last ones here."

* * *

We start walking for the Hall of Justice.

"Is that Batman?"

"Oh my goodness."

"I see Flash and Flash Jr."

"His name's Speedy. Duh."

"Speedy's Green Arrow's sidekick."

"Well, that makes no sense."

"I agree with that one." I turn to Robin. "Since when is an archer fast?"

Robin shrugs.

Green Arrow leans forward to Speedy. "Ready to see the inner sanctum?"

"Born that way." Speedy replies.

Aqualad looks around. "I'm glad we're all here."

Kid Flash turns to the rest of us. "Have all five sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?"

Speedy groans. "Don't call us sidekicks. Not after today."

Sorry." Kid flash sighs. "First time at the hall. I'm a little overwhelmed."

Robin looks at Kid Flash before turning away, his gaze falling on me. "You're overwhelmed. Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"

I speak up. "I am…for now."

We then step into the building. There's a wall of statues portraying the original Justice League over the door.

"Okay, now I'm not." I squeak out.

Robin looks around, looking stunned. "Oh, maybe that's why."

The doors slide open, revealing Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter.

The two step forward, and the Martian speaks up. "Robin, Blue Jay, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash. Welcome." He turns and heads back through the door, causing us to follow. Robin and Kid Flash fist-bump. "You now have unlimited access to the gym, our fully-stocked galley, and of course, our library."

Flash turns to us and holds his arms out. "Make yourselves at home."

Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Robin settle into the chairs while Speedy stands. I look around before settling on the floor and looking up at the others.

Batman addresses the league members. "Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day. We shouldn't be long."

The computer scans the members. _Recognized: Batman, 02. Aquaman, 06, Flash, 04. Green Arrow, 08. Martian Manhunter, 07. Red Tornado, 16._

The door slides open, and Speedy all but loses his head. "That's it?" The League members turn to look at him. "You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass."

"Actually, I barely expected more than getting to hang out with you guys." I say from behind him.

"It's a first step. You've been granted access few others get."

"Oh really?" Speedy motions to a window I hadn't noticed before. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

The Green Arrow steps forward. "Roy, you need to be patient."

"What I need is respect." He turns to face us. "They're treating us like kids. Worse, like sidekicks. We deserve better than this." The boys and I share a look before turning back to him. "You're kidding, right? You're playing their game? Why? Today was supposed to be _the_ day. Step one in becoming full-fledged members of the League."

Robin sighs. "Well, sure. But I thought step one was a tour of the H.Q."

"Except the Hall isn't the League's real H.Q. I bet they never told you. it's a false front for tourists, and a pit stop for catching zeta beam teleporter tubes to the real thing—an orbiting satellite called the watchtower."

Batman crosses his arms and glares at Green Arrow. "I know, I know. But I thought maybe we could make an exception." Batman continues to glare. "Or not."

While the Green Arrow deals with Batman, I deal with Speedy. "Seems like this _is_ step one." I step over to him. "You don't get all the way in with step one. It takes time. Face it. You're still a kid, just like the rest of us."

Aquaman steps up. "You are not helping your cause here, son. Stand down, or—"

"Or what? You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son. I'm not even his. I thought I was his partner. But not anymore." Speedy throws his hat to the ground. We all stare at him in shock. Speedy walks past us. "Guess they're right about you four. You're not ready." He then storms out the door. We stand and watch him leave.

* * *

The computer goes off, and Superman's face appears. "Superman to Justice League. There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

Batman is the first to comment. "I've had my suspicions about Cadmus. This may present the perfect opportunity to—"

"Zatara to Justice League. The sorcerer Wotan is using the _Amulet of Aten_ to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response."

Batman looks up to the computer. "Superman?"

"It's a small fire. Local authorities have it under control."

"Then Cadmus can wait." He pushes a button on the computer. "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."

They walk past us. Batman stops in front of Robin and I. "Stay put."

Robin is stunned. "What? Why?"

Aquaman steps in front of Robin. "This is a League mission."

Flash cuts in. "You're not trained."

Kid Flash snaps back. "Since when?"

"I meant you're not trained to work as a part of this team."

Aquaman continues. "There will be other missions. When you're ready."

"But for now, stay put."

The three of them walk off.

"Glad you didn't bring you-know-who?" Green Arrow asks the Martian Manhunter.

"Indeed." They walk off as well. The Red Tornado barely spares us a glance before walking away. The door slams shut behind us.

"Ugh. When we're ready?" Kid Flash grimaces. "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like—like sidekicks."

I groan before lying back on the floor.

Aqualad looks stunned. "My mentor. My king. I thought he trusted me."

"Trust? They don't even trust us with the basics. They've got a secret H.Q. in _space_."

"What else aren't they telling us?"

"I have a better question. Why didn't we leave with Speedy?"

The other two look at the floor. I look up at them with fire flashing in my eyes. "Because we're better than him, and we can prove it."

"What is Project Cadmus?"

Robin looks up. "Don't know. But I can find out." He walks over to the computer and taps a few keys.

 _Access denied._

"Heh. Wanna bet?"

Kid Flash gasps. "Whoa. How are you doing that?"

"Same system as the Batcave."

"Batman taught us to hack back when we were nine. Robin's just better at it than I am."

 _Access Granted._

"All right, Project Cadmus. Genetics lab here in D.C. That's all there is." Robin turns to Aqualad. "But if Batman's suspicious, maybe we should investigate."

Aqualad continues. "Solve their case before they do. It would be poetic justice."

"Hey, heh, they're all about justice."

Aqualad sighs. "But they said stay put."

Robin smiles. "For the blotting-out-the-sun mission, not this."

"Besides, we never stay put. Why start now?"

"Wait, are—? Are you going to Cadmus? Because if you're going, I'm going."

"Just like that? We're a team on a mission?"

"We didn't come for a play date." Robin smirks at me.

Aqualad smiles as he nods slightly.

"Hoo-ah!"

* * *

 **CADMUS**

Sirens wail outside the two-story building at Cadmus. Two men are trapped on the second story.

"Help!"

"Get us down!"

A fireman holds up a megaphone. "Stay put. We will get you out."

Seconds later, an explosion behind them causes the two to fly out the window. Kid Flash darts over and runs up the wall, catching them. After setting them on the roof, he almost falls, grabbing the wall to keep from falling.

"It's what's-his-name. Flash Boy!"

Kid Flash looks down at them. "Kid Flash. Why is that so hard?"

Robin, Aqualad, and I run up. "So smooth."

"Does he always have to run ahead? We need a plan. We—" Aqualad looks around. "Robin? Blue Jay?"

He hears kids laughing, and turns to see us jump on the back of a fire truck. We use a grappling hook to swing to the window Kid Flash is hanging from and work together to pull him up and in. "Whoa." Robin then falls slightly into the building.

I more gracefully step in. "Ya know, Rob, "Acrobat" and "clumsy" aren't usually found in the same sentence."

"It's KF's fault." Robin then turns to the computer and starts to hack.

I ignore him and sigh. "Besides, aren't you supposed to get _out_ of burning buildings, not _into_ them?" I find my own console and get to work.

Aqualad runs over to the firemen. "I need to borrow that." He pulls out the handles on his water-bearers and pulls their water to him. Using the water, he creates a water funnel and rises to the roof on it.

"Step aboard. Now."

Aqualad stops in the window Robin and Kid Flash had fallen through, then lowers the two scientists to the ground. He then replaces the handles.

"Appreciate the help."

"We're here to investigate." Robin and I share a look, suddenly realizing we said that together, before continuing together. "Poetic Justice, remember?"

Kid Flash works his way through a filing cabinet. "I wish you two would stop that."

I stop hacking to cross my arms. "And the Commish in Gotham wishes Bats would stop that ninja-disappearing act he's so renowned for."

Aqualad sighs before crossing his arms. "You two sure pulled it well."

"Because he taught us to." I sigh. "And we're twins, KF. We "do that" a lot."

"When you're not arguing."

Robin groans. "We don't argue that much!"

I sigh and cross my arms. "And when we do, it's because we're teasing each other. Siblings do that."

Aqualad walks around the corner. Kid Flash simply points after Aqualad before walking that way.

"There was something in the…"

"Elevators should be locked down."

Robin and I run around the corner. Robin lays a hand on Kid Flash's shoulder before we dart past him. "This is wrong." He looks at his wrist before activating a holographic computer. "Thought so. This is a high-speed express elevator. It doesn't belong in a two-story building."

"Neither does what I saw." Aqualad muscles the door open and looks down.

"And that's why they need an express elevator." Robin quips. We fire our grappling guns to the top and check to make sure they're holding fast before we rappel down. Aqualad and Kid Flash grab on Robin's and follow us.

Robin and I suddenly stop. "I'm at the end of my rope." Robin then starts swinging toward the door before grabbing onto the ledge. He reaches over and catches my arm before swinging me to the ledge. He then sits on it and checks his wrist computer while Aqualad swings over, and Kid Flash is rescued yet again—this time by Aqualad. Robin speaks up again. "Bypassing security." The wrist computer makes a slight chirp. "There. Go."

Aqualad muscles the door open, and we all step in.

"Welcome to Project Cadmus." Robin says.

Kid Flash bolts in, running nowhere in particular.

"Kid, wait." Aqualad says hoarsely.

Kid Flash skids to a stop before falling. "Aah! Oof." He looks up at the strange creature above him before seeing its foot approaching. He quickly rolls to the side, barely avoiding his death. We step over to the other side of the double line of beasts. Kid Flash quickly bolts back to us.

One of the smaller creepy things looks down at us, and his horns glow red. "No. Nothing odd going on here." Aqualad says sarcastically.

* * *

Robin unlocks another door. "Okay, I'm officially whelmed."

We look around to find several pods, each glowing electric blue and containing some strange creature.

"I don't like this place, Rob."

"Just relax, Jay. You're too much like Batman sometimes."

"Just because I'm more cautious than you doesn't mean I'm paranoid."

"Didn't say you were."

I sigh. "Rob, all I said is that I don't like this place. It's creepy, and what they're doing is unnatural."

Kid Flash walks deeper into the room. "This is how they hide this massive underground facility from the world. The real Cadmus isn't on the grid. It generates its own power with these things. Must be what they're bred for."

Aqualad walks in. "Even the name is a clue. The Cadmus of myth created a new race by sowing dragon's teeth into the earth."

"And this Cadmus creates new life too. Let's find out why." Robin hooks his wrist-computer into the Cadmus system. He types for a minute on the holographic screen. "They call them Genomorphs. Look at the stats on these things. Super-strength, telepathy, razor claws. These are living weapons."

Kid Flash leans in. "They're engineering an army. But for who?"

"I _really_ don't like this place."

Aqualad rests a hand on my shoulder. "Blue Jay, are you okay?"

Robin groans. "She's fine, Aqualad. Ever since Batman started training us she's been more timid than usual."

I sigh. "Yeah… For the longest time I was afraid of heights, afraid I'd fall…"

Robin and I share a saddened look. Robin sighs. "She's fine." He repeats before turning back to hacking. "Wait, there's something else." Aqualad and I step closer, my panic forgotten for the moment. "Project K-R."

' _Kr means Krypton._ '

' _I know, Rach._ '

' _You thinkin'…_ '

' _Clone?_ ' Robin groans. "Jay, the file's triple-encrypted. I can't—"

"Don't worry, Rob. I'll just sync my gauntlet with yours and—."

"Don't move!" a man in a helmet runs over with a squad of Genomorphs.

I shriek before turning to run away. Aqualad grabs me and pulls me back. "Stay."

"Okay."

"Wait. Robin? Blue Jay? Aqualad? Kid Flash?"

Robin glances at Kid Flash. "At least he got your name right."

"I know you. Guardian. A hero."

"I do my best."

Kid Flash speaks up. "Then what are you doing here?"

"I'm chief of security. You're trespassing. But we can call the Justice League. Figure this out."

"You think the League is going to approve of you breeding weapons?"

"Weapons? What do you—? What have I—? Ugh." He puts a hand on the helmet. "My head. Take them down hard. No mercy."

The snarling beasts attack. Robin and I throw smoke pellets before firing off our grappling guns and swinging away to safety. Kid flash continuously dodges a genomorph while Aqualad faces one head-on—literally. Guardian then slams Aqualad into a computer, denting the front panel. The two start fighting, punching each other quickly. After about two minutes, Aqualad shocks Guardian and pushes him back. Kid Flash then bursts through the cloud, and both start running.

They find Robin and I hacking into some mechanical system with the same synced-gauntlet trick we had been using earlier. Kid Flash darts over to him while Aqualad looks back to see the horde of genomorphs still after us.

"Way to be a team player, you two."

Robin turns to look at him. "Weren't you right behind me?"

I smirk at my twin. "Apparently not, Rob."

The door opens. Aqualad runs over, pulling me along. He throws me in before diving in after me. The doors close seconds before we're attacked by more genomorphs.

Robin hits the down button.

Aqualad glances up at the number display. "We're headed down?"

Kid Flash points up. "Dude, out is up."

"Excuse me? Project K-R? It's down on sublevel fifty-two."

"And if there's even a chance that our suspicions are correct, we need to look."

Aqualad rubs the back of his head. "This is out of control." He lowers his hand. "Perhaps…Perhaps we should contact the League."

The elevator dings, and the doors open. The walls and floors are red, and look like either a cave, or the inside of one of the genomorphs.

I look back to the others. "There's no turning back now."

Robin and I dart out.

Kid Flash moves his arm toward Aqualad. "We _are_ already here." He then takes off at a dead run, as always.

We all stop at a fork, Aqualad bringing up the rear. "Which way?"

Robin pulls out one of his explosive bird-a-rangs. "Yeah? Bizarre-looking hallway one?" He waves his arm in my direction. "Or bizarre-looking hallway two?"

I pull out one of my own before giving my twin brother a glare. "You're asking _me_?"

"Hold." A voice comes from a tunnel. We look back just in time to see two barrels flying for us. Aqualad and Kid Flash dive for cover as Robin throws the bird-a-rang. It misses, and the genomorph sends two more at us, causing us to run down one of the halls. "They are headed for Project K-R." Guardian and the genomorphs follow us.

A woman steps out of a room only to find Kid Flash flying toward her. He tries to slow down, but only manages to fall down, taking her down with him. He glances up at the label on the door before quickly grabbing a barrel and shoving it into the door. "Hurry!" He waves a hand for us to follow.

Robin, Aqualad, and I hurry and jump into the room. Aqualad slams it closed seconds before the genomorphs can get to us. Robin starts hacking instantly, while I look around the room. "This place is freaky."

"Tell me about it." Robin glances over at me before returning his eyes to his work. "I disabled the door. We're safe."

"We're trapped." Aqualad corrects.

Kid Flash is looking at something. "Uh, guys? You'll wanna see this." He pushes a button, causing the pod in the middle of the room to light up.

"Whoa." Robin breathes.

"It's a boy… We were right, Rob."

Kid Flash walks over to the standing pod. "Big K, little R. The atomic symbol for Krypton. Clone?"

Aqualad turns to Robin and I. "Robin. Blue Jay. Hack."

Robin turns from me. "Right, right." He gets to work. "Weapon designation Superboy. A clone force-grown in sixteen weeks from DNA acquired from Superman."

Aqualad scowls. "Stolen from Superman."

Kid Flash looks up at them. "No way the big guy knows about this."

"Solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation 24/7."

"And these creatures?" Aqualad points to the Gnomes.

Robin continues reading. "Genomorph-Gnomes. Telepathic. Force-feeding him an education."

"And we can guess what else." Aqualad stares at the pod.

Kid Flash looks at his two friends. "They're making a slave out of, well, Superman's son."

"Now we contact the League."

We try to activate their comms to no avail. Robin is the first to speak up. "No signal."

"We're in too deep. Literally."

* * *

Outside the door, Guardian and the genomorphs are attempting to get in with the help of the scientist, to no avail. The head scientist runs up.

"They're still in there? With the weapon?"

Guardian turns to look at him. "We can't get the door open."

"Use your telekinesis."  
"I have tried to no avail." Dubbilex says.

"Useless. This is a debacle. Get some G-Trolls down here to muscle the door open. Now."

Guardian puts his hands on his hips. "Already on their way."

"You realize once we get in there, we can't ever let them leave?"

"Doc, there aren't your typical meddling kids. You don't want to get on the wrong side of the Justice League."

"Better than getting on the wrong side of the Cadmus board of directors, believe me." He stares into the eyes of the gnome on Guardian's shoulder. "Contact the G-Gnomes inside K-R." the gnome closes its eyes as its horns start to glow.

* * *

"This is wrong." Kid Flash turns to us.

"We can't leave him like this." Robin glances back to me.

Aqualad puts his hands on his hips. "Set him free. Do it."

Robin taps a few keys, and the pod hisses before the sides lower, setting Superboy free. His hand clenches, and his eyes snap open. The next thing we know, he's tackling Aqualad. He manages to get in three good punches before Robin, Kid Flash, and Kid Flash can get to him.

Kid Flash grabs his arm. "Whoa! Hang on, Supey."

"We're on your side." Robin states, taking a shoulder.

Superboy reaches back and socks Kid Flash, sending him flying through the glass cylinder.

Robin grabs Superboy's neck and holds something in his other hand. "I don't wanna do this." He pushes the button and shoves the canister into Superboy's face. While Superboy is distracted, Aqualad kicks him in the face and into the consol. Robin quickly charges a taser before activating it. Superboy simply grabs the cables and jerks Robin to him before standing one foot on his chest. Aqualad holds a hand to his head. When he sees Robin in danger, he activates his water-bearers and hardens the water into a large hammer before diving for Superboy. "ENOUGH!"

Superboy slams into the cot he had been laying on. Aqualad kneels down and helps Robin up. "Ugh…Ung—ugh." Robin holds a hand to his chest before collapsing again.

I run over to Robin. "I've got him. You handle Superboy."

* * *

I kneel and help Robin sit up. "Rob, are you okay?"

"Feels like Superman stood on my chest."

"Well, he pretty much did." I laugh slightly.

"They need me."

"But you'll be no help to us if you can't fight."

"Good thing you know what you're doing."

"I should, between you and Bruce." I look up at the fight going on. "I need to help, if you're all right. You take a minute to recover."

* * *

Aqualad nods and stands, prepared to stop him. He holds up a hand, palm out. "We are trying to help you."

Superboy darts for Aqualad, but the latter dodges, causing Superboy to punch the ground. Aqualad then slams Superboy into the wall. Superboy reaches a hand up and stops Aqualad's hand before kicking him away. Aqualad lands on his feet and gives three good punches before dodging one of Superboy's. He lands one more before grabbing Superboy from behind and shocking him. Superboy screams before jumping, slamming Aqualad into the ceiling. He notices Aqualad is still holding on, so he repeats the action. This time, Aqualad falls to the floor. Superboy stands and glares around the room.

I set Robin out of the way before standing and taking a fighting stance. "You wanna go?" I sigh. "You hurt my brother, you big bully."

He simply nods.

"Then let's do this." I start fighting, using my opponent's size against me as I had been taught. I then move closer and punch him in the gut. I then step back and shake my hand. "Bad idea. Dude's got abs of steel."

Superboy crosses the room and slams open the door, letting the bad guys in. I fall to my knees, cradling my sore hand.

The head scientist steps up to see my friends taken down. "Attaboy."


	3. Fireworks

Curious: They started training at the same time, but Robin debuted a few weeks before Blue Jay because she was a little more nervous about fighting and therefore more reserved and less safe. They were out within three months of each other, though.

AlsoRachel: I don't know if I'm going to pair her off yet, mainly because I hadn't thought about it...

* * *

Key

"Dialogue"

" _Telepathic Communication_ "

' _My thoughts, Twin Telepathy_ '

' _Dick's thoughts, Twin Telepathy_ '

* * *

Fireworks

We hang from our arms on vertical cots. Superboy is staring at us.

* * *

" _Four sidekicks. Robin, Blue Jay, Aqualad, and Kid Flash, breached security. They found and released the weapon. The Superboy. Of course the clone is under our telepathic control and, as ordered, turned against his would-be liberators. The four are contained and we don't believe the League knows they're here. What should I do with them."_

" _Clone them. The substitutes will serve the Light, and only the light."_

 _"And the originals?"_

 _"Dispose of them. Leave no trace."_

* * *

" _Time runs short. You must awaken. You must awaken NOW!_ "

We gasp and look up. Now the four of us have locked eyes with Superboy.

Kid Flash speaks up. "What? What do you want? Quit staring, you're creeping me out."

"Uh, KF, how about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?"

"I don't think he _can_ , Robin. If he could, he would have by now."

* * *

The head scientist speaks to the female scientist. "Prepare the cloning procedure for the new Project Sidekick. Now."

She walks off.

He walks over to Guardian. "Almost done here, Doc."

He steps over and looks into the empty room. "Where's the weapon?"

"Superboy? He carried the intruders to the Cloning Chamber."

"We have genomorphs for that. Get the weapon back in its pod now."

"I don't see the harm in letting the kid stretch his legs."

"Don't you now?" the genomorph on the head scientist's shoulder's horns glow.

"That clone belongs in a cage." Guardian walks off.

* * *

"We only sought to help you." Aqualad states.

"Yeah, we free you, and you turn on us. How's that for gratitude." Kid Flash continues.

"Kid, please, be quiet now. I believe our new friend was not in full control of his actions."

Robin activates a lock pick on his pointer finger. I do the same. ' _Remember, Rachel, a calm mind. Focus._ '

"What if I—? Hmm. What if I wasn't?"

"He can talk?"

"Yes, he can."

"KF, listen. It's not fun being treated like you're not worth anything. He's a person, whether he was cloned or not." "Not like I said "it"." Kid Flash says.

"The genomorphs taught you telepathically." Aqualad says.

"They taught me much. I can read, write. I know the names of things."

"But have you seen them? Have they ever actually let you see the sky or the sun?"

"Images are implanted in my mind, but, no, I have not seen them."

"Do you know what you are? Who you are?" Aqualad asks.

"I am the Superboy. A genomorph. A clone made from the DNA of the Superman. Created to replace him should he perish. To destroy him should he turn from the light."

"To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration. But like Superman, you deserve a life of your own. Beyond that solar suit. Beyond your pod. Beyond Cadmus." Aqualad says.

"I live because of Cadmus. It is my home!"

"Lovely home." I snap snarkily.

"Your home is a test tube." Robin suddenly jerks his head toward me. "Be nice, Jay." Robin turns back to him. "We can show you the sun."

"Uh, pretty sure it's after midnight, but we can show you the moon." Kid Flash continues.

"We can show you—introduce you—to Superman."

Superboy looks up at all of us.

"No, they can't."

We look over to see Guardian and the two scientists.

"They'll be otherwise occupied. Activate the cloning process."

I start struggling, trying to find any way under the sun to _not_ get cloned. ' _NOOOOOOO!_ '

' _Just relax, Rach._ ' Robin turns to the group. "Pass. Batcave's crowded enough."

"And get the weapon back in its pod."

"Hey, how come he gets to call Supey an "it"?" Kid Flash asks.

Guardian rests a hand on Superboy's shoulder.

"Help us." Aqualad pleads.

Superboy shrugs off the hand and glares at Guardian.

"Don't start thinking now."

The head scientist's G-gnome jumps to Superboy's shoulder. "See, you're not a real boy. You're a weapon. And you belong to me… Well, to Cadmus. Same thing. Now get back to your pod."

The female scientist starts tapping buttons.

"NOO!"

Metal shock probes stab through our costumes and shock us while removing our blood. This time, it's not just _me_ crying out. The four of us start screaming in pain.

The clothed genomorph steps in. "Where's Dubbilex? Ooh! Ugh. Lurking as usual. Get the G-gnomes downloading their memories. When that's done, delete the source material."

* * *

Superboy tries to walk down the hall, but he can hear us crying out. Aqualad speaks painfully. "Superboy, you live. That gives you the right to follow your own path. A weapon, or a person? The choice is yours. But ask yourself, what would Superman do?"

* * *

The next thing we know, we hear banging on the door before it's ripped off. The shock probes stop and pull out. We all look up to see Superboy.

The head scientist starts to berate him as the three of them start for him. "I told you to get back to your—"

Superboy simply shoves past them. "Don't give me orders."

"You here to help us, or fry us?"

I giggle softly. ' _Guess that shock-probe didn't fry his sense of humor._ '

He stares at us for a moment. "Huh. I don't seem to have heat vision, so I suppose helping is my only option." He releases the cuffs around Robin's wrists.

"Ugh, finally. Lucky Batman isn't here. He'd have my head for taking so long."

"Tell me about it." I shake my head. "And I'm still trapped here."

"Seriously? _That's_ what you're worried about? The whole League will have our heads after tonight." Kid Flash states.

Robin hits a button on the console, freeing the rest of us. "Free Aqualad. I'll get Kid Mouth and Starlight."

"Don't you give me orders either." Superboy jumps up to Aqualad and rips off the cuffs.

Aqualad groans and falls weakly against him. After a second, he straightens up. "Thank you."

Robin releases the cuffs around Kid Flash's wrists, and the four of them drop down. "All right, I'll get Jay, then we can go."

Superboy jumps up and rips off the cuff before cradling me.

"Or, you can get her. Now let's run." Robin sighs. "And put my sister down."

The head scientist watches us run. "You—! You'll never get out of here. I'll have you back in pods before morning."

"That guy is not whelmed. Not whelmed at all."

"You're telling me?" Superboy sets me down. "Thank you, Superboy."

Robin and I throw several of our explosive bird-a-rangs.

Kid Flash runs after us. "What is it with you and this "whelmed" thing?"

* * *

The bird-a-rangs blow up our DNA and start a fire. The head scientist's G-gnome jumps onto his shoulder. "Activate every genomorph in Cadmus." The G-gnome's horns glow. The bulbs in the tunnels start to glow orange.

* * *

Aqualad is running in front of us. "We are still forty-two levels below ground, but if we can make the elevator…"

Several genomorphs come from around the corner, and out of the pods. The G-Trolls start to attack, but Superboy strikes back fast. The G-Troll pins him to the ground. The rest of us slip past them.

"Superboy. The goal is escape, not to bury ourselves here."

"You want escape?!" he throws a G-Troll into two others.

Aqualad rips the door open. Kid Flash grabs the wall while Robin and I fire our grappling guns and start up.

Superboy jumps in an attempt to fly to the top of the elevator with Aqualad, but starts to fall. "I—I'm falling."

Robin stops their descent with a bird-a-rang.

"Superman can fly. Why can't I fly?"

"Don't know. But it looks like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Still cool." Kid Flash grabs Superboy's arm and lowers him to their small ledge, allowing Aqualad to step down.

"Thank you." Superboy says softly.

I sigh while hanging onto my grappler for dear life. "Everything okay down here?"

The elevator starts flying towards us.

Robin points up. "Guys, this will have to be our exit."

Aqualad and Superboy both punch the door down, and they quickly step into the building while Robin and I flip.

"Uh-oh." I point down the hall to where genomorphs are running at us. We quickly turn down a hall.

" _Turn left, Brother._ "

Superboy looks around before speaking. "Go left. Left."

" _Turn right._ "

"Right."

We find a dead end. "Great directions, Supey. You trying to get us re-podded?"

I sigh. "Kid Flash, give the guy a break."

Superboy looks around. "No, I don't understand."

Robin steps over. "Don't apologize. This is perfect."

* * *

The genomorphs run around the corner and find the vent open.

We're all crawling through the vents. Kid Flash is not amused. "At this rate, we'll never get out."

Superboy stops. "Shh." He turns back. "Listen."

* * *

"Someone, Robin, I'd wager, hacked our systems deactivating internal security cameras. But he neglected the motion sensors. The genomorphs are closing in. They're all coming out in here. We have them cornered."

They stare in anticipation, but only get a face full of genomorph.

"Agh! He hacked the motion sensors."

* * *

"I hacked the motion sensors."

I giggle slightly. "Good one, Rob. Wish I'd thought of that one."

"Sweet." Kid Flash says.

"Still plenty of them between us and out." Robin says.

"But I've finally got room to move." Kid Flash lowers his goggles before running up the stairs, knocking down genomorphs along the way and paving the road for us.

Robin checks his wrist computer. "More behind us."

"Great." I say sarcastically.

Superboy breaks the stairs, causing them to fall.

* * *

We'll cut them off at Sub-Level One." Guardian says.

"We'd better, or the Board will have our heads. My head."

The head scientist pushes a button. "I need to get something from Project Blockbuster, just in case. I'll meet you at Sub-Level One."

* * *

Kid Flash is still running strong, but an alarm starts to go off, causing a door to close in front of him. "Oh, crud. Unh!" he tumbles backwards and lands on his back.

We run over to him, Aqualad in front. "We're cut off from the street."

"Thanks, my head hadn't noticed."

Superboy fails to punch through it, and even him and Aqualad together can't open the door.

Robin pulls out his wrist-mounted computer. "Can't hack this fast enough."

I activate my own gauntlet before hooking into his and starting to help. "Not even together!"

G-Trolls start coming around the corner.

"This way!" Robin kicks down a door off to the side, and we all quickly enter, only to find a gathering of genomorphs and the Guardian.

"Scrap."

More genomorphs walk up behind us. Aqualad creates hard-water swords and I cover my hands in blue fire while the others prepare to fight. The G-gnomes' horns start to glow, and before we know it, we're knocked out.

" _Perhaps, for the sake of all genomorphs, our brother Superboy should make up his own mind._ "

Superboy turns to look at the clothed genomorph. " _It was you._ "

" _Yes, brother. I set the fire and lured your new friends down into Cadmus, woke them when they were in danger…_ "

Superboy suddenly realizes what happened. " _And guided me. Why?_ "

" _Because you are our hope, the genomorph hero. You will blaze a trail for all our brothers, showing us the way to freedom._ "

Guardian's G-gnome jumps off his shoulder. "What's going on?"

My friends and I start to wake up. I watch as Superboy stands.

" _What is your choice, brother?_ "

"I choose freedom."

Guardian still has his hand to his head. "Feels like a fog lifting."

The rest of us stand up.

"Guardian?" Aqualad asks.

"Go. I'll deal with Desmond."

The head scientist shows up then. "I think not." The genomorphs and Guardian move to where they can see him. "Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus." He drinks the contents of the test tube, then starts groaning as he falls to his knees. Test tube and glasses shattering. His whole body changes, and his skin rips off.

Guardian holds out his arms. "Everyone, back." Guardian then runs to the former head scientist. The former scientist slams Guardian into the wall. Superboy then runs for him and punches him, only to get slammed into the floor. Superboy then starts pummeling the former-scientist, who punches him into the wall. He rolls back to his feet and jumps into the air, planning to slam whoever into the ground, only to be slammed through the ceiling.

We all look up. "Okay, that's one way to bust through the ceiling." Robin fires his grappling hook at the ceiling. "You think Lab Coat planned that?"

Aqualad stares after Robin as he rappels up with Kid Flash. "I doubt he's planning anything anymore."

"Probably not, but he sure saved us the trouble." I fire my own grapple gun before following Robin through the hole.

* * *

Aqualad joins us on the first floor.

Superboy breaks free, only for Blockbuster to grab his legs and throw him in our direction. He hits Aqualad, and the two slide back across the floor. Robin and Kid Flash help the two back to their feet. We all take fighting stances.

They all take off for Blockbuster. Kid Flash runs up and winds up sliding under Blockbuster's feet right before he gets stomped on. Superboy and Aqualad give a two-for-one punch to Blockbuster's face, and Kid Flash rises to his hands and knees to trip him.

"Learned that one in kindergarten."

Robin then flips sideways over Kid Flash and flings the explosive bird-a-rangs at Blockbuster. I flip to the other side and fling my own. Blockbuster then picks up Superboy and slams him into a pillar. Superboy punches him twice, then gets slammed into the pillar again. Before Blockbuster can slam him a third time, Aqualad uses his water-bearers and grabs Blockbuster's arm with a water whip, then slams a foot into Blockbuster's face before standing sideways on the wall. When he dives for Blockbuster, he gets slammed away, and lands on his back. Blockbuster then throws Superboy into another cement pillar. Superboy falls to the ground, and a piece of the pillar lands on him. Kid Flash then runs over and grabs his arm using Aqualad's slight upright posture for leverage. As Blockbuster flings him into the air, Aqualad prepares a hard-water mace, but is knocked off-balance when Blockbuster brings Kid Flash down. Both hit the wall hard before falling to the ground. Blockbuster then slams a fist into Aqualad, breaking the pillar. When he hits Aqualad again, the pillar snaps.

"Of course." Robin activates his wrist computer and looks at a 3-D image of the room.

I step up beside him. "Of course what?"

"Why aren't you fighting?"

"Same reason you aren't, Rob."

Robin sighs. "KF, get over here."

Kid Flash runs to him while Blockbuster takes another swing at Aqualad, who forms a shield.

Superboy then rushes up and starts punching Blockbuster before grabbing his head.

Robin portrays damage to the pillar. "Got it, you two?"

"Got it."

I nod. "Let's move, KF."

"Go." Robin sighs. "And be careful, Jay."

Kid Flash and I take off, him running while I swing from my grappler. Kid Flash dives up and grabs Blockbuster's nose, punching him in the process. I land beside him and tilt my head curiously.

Kid Flash looks at the thing in his hand. "Got your nose."

Blockbuster throws Superboy to the ground and takes off after Kid Flash and I.

"I know it was part of the plan and all, but come on!"

Kid Flash dodges right before he gets pounded by Blockbuster. Superboy rolls over and gets back up.

"Superboy. Aqualad." Robin raises his wrist to show them the plan while Kid Flash and I flee Blockbuster.

Kid Flash leans against a pillar. "Come and get me you Incredible Bulk." Kid Flash then dodges right before Blockbuster destroys the pillar, but gets hit by a rock and falls. "No. Ugh." He quickly rolls over and jumps back up right before Blockbuster pounds him, but stumbles and winds up getting slammed into another wall. "Ugh!"

"This one and that one." Robin retracts the wrist computer, then pulls out his explosive bird-a-rangs. "Jay, over here!"

I pull out a handful of my own explosive bird-a-rangs. "Let's do this!"

Superboy slams his fist into one pillar, while Aqualad uses his hard water hammer to destroy another.  
Blockbuster tries to slam his fist into Kid Flash and I, but we dodge, and he slams it into the pillar instead. "Sorry, try again."

I place my last bird-a-rang and cartwheel beside Kid Flash. "Nice try, big guy, but denied."

"Jay, get out of there!" Robin draws a large X on the floor with white chalk, then runs. Aqualad coats the floor with water. Kid Flash runs and slides on the water, spreading it. Blockbuster runs for him. Superboy jumps into the air before slamming his fist into the top of Blockbuster's head, causing him to fall right on the X. A second later, Aqualad sends a massive electrical current through it, shocking Blockbuster.

Robin runs out of the way. "Move!" His explosive bird-a-rangs beep, then blow up, bringing Cadmus down on top of us. Superboy dives for Kid Flash and Aqualad dives for Robin and I. Seconds later, the building collapses.

Superboy punches a rock away, then he pushes the large stone on our backs away. Superboy looks around to see that we're all okay. "Agh."

Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin, and I stand from the rubble. "We…did it."

Robin rubs the back of his neck. "Was there…ever any doubt?" He and Kid Flash high-five, only to cringe and groan in pain. Superboy steps over to where Blockbuster is pinned.

"See?" Kid Flash points at the moon. "The moon."

Something seems to come from the moon. After a couple minutes, we discover that it's Superman. "Oh, and Superman. Do we keep our promises or what?"

The Justice League lands around us.

Superboy walks over to Superman and lifts the torn part of his shirt, revealing the Shield. Superman looks stunned for a second, but when Superboy gives him a hopeful look, he scowls. Superboy scowls back.

"Is that what I think it is?" Batman asks.

Kid Flash steps forward and covers the side of his mouth facing Superboy. "He doesn't like being called an "it"."

Superboy releases his top. "I'm Superman's clone."

The League members all share confused looks.

"Start talking." Batman tells us.

* * *

They haul off Blockbuster after we finish our tale. While the League talk over what happened, the five of us gather together. I catch Superboy staring at Superman. Martian Manhunter glances our way, followed by Superman, the two both talking with Wonder Woman.

Superman turns to look back at Wonder Woman before walking over to the two of us. "We'll uh—we'll figure something out for you. The League will, I mean. For now, I'd better make sure they get that Blockbuster creature squared away." He then turns away and flies off, Superboy staring after him.

I sigh. "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime, Right, Rob?"

"Cadmus will be investigated. All fifty-two levels. But let's make one thing clear."

Flash cuts in. "You should have called."

I speak up softly. "We tried to call Batman, but we were down too deep."

"End results aside, we are not happy. You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders, and endangered lives. You will not be doing this again."

"I am sorry, but we will."

"Aqualad, stand down."

"Apologies, my king. But no." Aquaman raises an eyebrow. "We did good work here tonight. The work you trained us to do." Aqualad steps forward. "Together, on our own, we forged something powerful, important."

"Just like Rob and I did four years ago."

Flash cuts in again. "If this is about your treatment at the Hall, the four of you—"

Kid Flash interrupts. "The _five_ of us. And it's not."

Robin and I step forward. "Batman, we're ready to use what you taught us, or why teach us at all?"

"Why let them tell us what to do?" Superboy asks.

I sigh. "Because we are still children, Superboy."

Superboy continues. "It's simple: Get on board, or get out of the way."

I nod and take my place beside the boys. "Superboy has a point, Batman. I stand with them when I say that we've made our team, and no one will stop us from fighting together."

* * *

 **GOTHAM**

Once we step out of the zeta tube, Robin and I walk on either side of Batman as we walk to the Batmobile. "So Batman, what's going to happen to Superboy?"

"He's staying with Kid Flash until the League and I figure out what to do about this team."

Robin and I climb into the Batmobile together. "We're not backing down."

Batman climbs in. Once the roof slides back, he smirks, allowing his true personality to come through. "I didn't expect you kids to."

I smile brightly. "Thanks, Bruce."

"I still don't believe the others are ready, but I do believe that the two of you are. Now, Alfred is waiting in the Batcave. He was very worried when the two of you didn't show up. Get changed. I'll have Alfred get some cookies for the two of you, then you need to get to bed."

* * *

 **FOUR DAYS LATER**

Dick and I run down the stairs together wearing matching batman pajamas, before running into the kitchen. We smile at the two men in the kitchen before speaking simultaneously. "Morning Alfred. Morning Bruce."

"Good morning Mistress Rachel. Good Morning Master Richard."

"Morning, kids."

"When are we leaving?"

"Half an hour."

"Asterous!"

"Finish eating and get dressed so we can leave."

I look up at our adoptive father. "Do we need to wear our costumes?"

"No, just these. Remember, no one can know your true identity." He hands each of us a pair of dark sunglasses. Dick's are plain black, with metal earpieces. Mine are black with pink plastic frames, both made specially so they can't fall off. I can see several pairs in different colors, obviously for me, sitting on the counter beside Alfred. "Get dressed, quickly."

Dick and I run up the stairs. I turn to my brother skeptically. "Think Bruce means that they can't know we're a rare set of identical twins?"

"Yeah. If that got out, they'd know."

"But there's other ways they'll find out…"

"Not our business, Rach."

I sigh. "Guess you're right, Dick." I turn to him. "But this is _so_ not asterous. The least he could let us do is tell the team we're twins!"

We turn into our prospective rooms.

* * *

 **HAPPY HARBOR**

Dick and I fall into line beside the others. Batman starts pacing in front of us. "This cave was the original Secret Sanctuary of the Justice League. We're calling it into service again. Since you five are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms. Red Tornado volunteered to live here and be your supervisor. Black Canary's in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions."

I'm wearing a pink T-shirt with a light blue butterfly graphic, light blue jeggings, a pink sweatshirt with a light blue butterfly print, white socks, pink tennis shoes, and pink framed dark sunglasses. My long black braids are pulled together and tied back with a pink scrunchie. "Yes!"

Robin is wearing an orange hoodie and black jacket, with black pants and black and white sneakers. He has dark sunglasses on as well. "Real Missions?"

"Yes, but covert."

Flash is standing behind Kid Flash, who is wearing a white long sleeved shirt, blue short sleeved collared shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. "The League will still handle the obvious stuff. There's a reason we have these targets on our chests."

Aquaman steps up next to Batman. "But Cadmus proves the bad guys are getting smarter. Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly."

"The six of you will be that team."

"Cool." Robin smirks to me. His expression suddenly turns confused. "Wait, six?"

Batman nods toward the zeta tube. "This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian."

"Hi." She says.

"Liking this gig more every minute." Kid Flash says, "Welcome aboard. I'm Kid Flash. That's Robin. Aqualad. It's cool if you forget their names."

I cross my arms. "What about me, Kid Mouth?" I sigh. "Hey. I'm Blue Jay."

"I'm honored to be included."

We all walk over to welcome her.

Robin turns back. "Hey, Superboy. Come meet Miss M."

Superboy quickly joins us.

She changes the color of her shirt with shape-shifting. "I like your T-shirt."

Superboy smiles slightly before scowling when Robin elbows him. Kid Flash darts over and puts his arm around Superboy.

Aqualad looks at us all. "Today _is_ the day."

I smirk. "Too bad Speedy isn't here to see it."

Robin nods. "You said it, Jay."


	4. Welcome to Happy Harbor

I have a poll on my profile page asking a question I really want to have answered. I'm trying to get as many answers as I can, and very few people visit my profile. I've gotten literally one answer in a week, and that's sad. Please answer, and be honest about it.

* * *

 **I ask that those enjoying this story be patient, as it's difficult for me to do any characterization during the chapters from the episodes. As soon as I reach a non-episode chapter she will become something more than Robin's shadow, but she IS very timid around the team.**

* * *

 **I only own my OC's!**

* * *

Key

"Dialogue"

" _Telepathic Communication_ "

' _My thoughts, Twin Telepathy_ '

' _Dick's thoughts, Twin Telepathy_ '

* * *

Welcome to Happy Harbor

 **JULY 17th STAR CITY**

It's 11:16 at night. Two men are unloading a crate full of green cases. Suddenly, an arrow strikes between the two under the crate. The two drop it, and it breaks open. Brick uses his foot to flip a gun up and catches it before aiming it to where Speedy is standing on a metal frame. "You again! I'm starting to get insulted Green Arrow's not messing up my operations personally." He then fires the gun.

Speedy squints before jumping to another girder. He then swings from the railing of a nearby catwalk before springing off it onto a lower girder, then onto another catwalk before running away, all the while dodging bullets. He flips over another shot before aiming an arrow at Brick's gun and hitting the target right in the center, blowing the gun and Brick's suit and shirt.

"Do you know what I pay for a suit in my size?" he turns to his gang. "Scorch the earth, boys."

Kid Flash then darts through them, slamming into one. The other two aim their guns at him.

Their guns are then hit by two bird-a-rangs. Robin and I laugh as we swing over the two and land on a stack of crates. "Good hit, Rob."

"Thanks, Jay."

Aqualad then lands in front of us and activates his water-bearers, forming a whip that he uses to slam the two thugs into the open crate. The two men then fall flat on their faces. Brick lifts a chunk of earth and flings it at Speedy, who barely manages to dodge it. Speedy then braces himself against a crate and prepares an arrow. He once again nails Brick, this time in the middle of the back with an exploding arrow. Brick chucks another rock. Speedy dodges it, but Aqualad steps over and slices it in half with his water-bearers formed into a sword. Speedy then steps back up and fires another exploding arrow.

Aqualad retracts the water as his tattoos fade back to black. "The cave is perfect. It has everything the team will need."

Robin and I flip in behind them. Speedy starts before turning to us. "For covert missions. You know, spy stuff."

I roll my eyes and smirk. "Nice to see you again, Speedy."

Kid Flash darts over. "Wait till you see Superboy and Miss Martian." He holds out a hand. "But I saw her first."

Brick picks up another boulder and chucks it at us.

Speedy takes off behind Aqualad.

Robin and I run the other way.

Kid Flash dives off the crates.

Aqualad prepares his water-bearers with dual maces. He smashes the boulder, then Speedy arms three more arrows and fires, all three hitting Brick's chest. He falls back as the arrows explode one at a time. Brick all but falls, bracing himself with one hand. He laughs evilly. "Tell Arrow he shouldn't send boys to do a man's job."

"Forget about me, Brickie boy?" I pull out three explosive bird-a-rangs and throw them at Brick, barely doing more that startling him even with the three being on-target.

Speedy pulls out another arrow and takes aim.

Brick holds out his arms. "Go ahead."

Speedy fires, hitting dead center. The arrow then releases a red foamy substance.

Kid Flash runs over and stops in a crouch. "High-density polyurethane foam." He gives Speedy a thumbs up. "Nice."

Speedy walks toward Aqualad, Robin, and I. "So, Speedy, you in?"

He stops and turns to Robin and I. "Pass. I'm done letting Arrow and the League tell me what to do. I don't need a babysitter or a clubhouse hang-out with the other kids. Your Junior Justice League is a joke." Aqualad stands from the crate he had been leaning against. "Something to keep you busy and in your place." He walks off.

"We're not a joke, and we have to prove ourselves—that's what this team is for—teen heroes to prove themselves."

He pushes past me. "Well, I don't want any part of it." He disappears into the shadows.

I look at my feet sadly. Robin steps up behind me and lays a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure he didn't mean it that way, Jay."

I look back and smile at Robin. "I know, Rob."

* * *

 **JULY 18th MOUNT JUSTICE**

 _Recognized: Robin, B-01. Blue Jay, B-02. Kid Flash, B-03._

Twelve hours later, Robin, Kid Flash, and I walk into the cave wearing civvies. Robin is wearing a green hoodie, dark blue tight jeans, and a black jacket with his black and white sneakers and dark sunglasses. Kid Flash is wearing a yellow long sleeved T-shirt and a red short sleeved collared shirt with blue-gray jeans and his sneakers, and I'm wearing a green T-shirt with a purple flower graphic, dark blue jeggings, a green hoodie with a purple floral print, white socks, and green tennis shoes, with my new green framed dark sunglasses.

Kid Flash, Robin, and I dart to where the other three members are gathered. We find the three staring at a map on the comm screens, a small image of Red Tornado over the ocean on the image. Aqualad is staring at the map.

Robin speaks up first. "Did you ask him?"

Kid Flash follows. "What did he say?"

I smile up at the Atlantian teen. "Do we have a mission yet?"

Aqualad turns to us. "He's arriving now."

Kid Flash turns and socks Robin on the shoulder. "Then what are we waiting for?" He then runs to greet Red Tornado. Robin and I share a look before running after him. Aqualad walks after us. Superboy and Miss Martian share a look, then Miss Martian flies while Superboy walks after us.

* * *

We run out the door. Red Tornado lands in front of us on a literal Red Tornado, his blue and gold cape upright behind him.

Kid Flash waves his hand above his head. "Red Tornado."

Red Tornado lands and looks at us. "Greetings. Is there a reason you intercept me outside the cave?"

Aqualad steps up. "We hoped you had a mission for us."

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility."

Robin steps up. "It's been over a week and—"

I lay a hand on his shoulder before sighing. "Relax, Rob. What do you call last night?"

Red Tornado holds up a hand to silence Robin and I. "You will be tested soon enough." He lowers his hand. "For the time being, simply enjoy each other's company."

Aqualad looks up at our team's guardian. "This team is not a social club."

"No. But I am told social interaction is an important team-building exercise." He briefly points to us. "Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarizing yourself with the cave." He walks past us and into the cave.

Kid Flash punches Robin in the arm. ""Keep busy.""

Robin growls. "Does he think we're falling for this?"

Superboy glares at us.

Miss Martian, wearing a mauve skirt and shrug, and a white T-shirt, speaks up eagerly. "Oh, I'll find out." She focuses on Red Tornado.

A blue beam scans Red Tornado as he walks in. _Recognized: Red Tornado, 16._

"I'm sorry. I forgot he's a machine. Inorganic. I cannot read his mind."

Kid Flash smiles slightly at her. "Nice try, though."

I sigh before laying one hand on Robin's shoulder and the other on Kid Flash. "It's not that he's trying to trick us, there's just nothing covert to do. We're out of work—free time. Trust me. I've been helping Batman with his cases for the last week, and he's been searching for a mission for us."

Kid Flash looks at Miss Martian. "So, uh, you know what I'm thinking right now?"

Robin scoffs. "We all know what you're thinking now." He elbows Kid Flash in the back.

"Ow."

Aqualad looks down. "And now we tour the clubhouse."

I look up at the Atlantian and cross my arms. "What's with the passive-aggression?"

Miss Martian looks at us. "Well. Superboy and I live here. We can play tour guides."

The five of us all turn to Superboy. "Don't look at me."

Kid Flash turns back around to where he's looking at Miss Martian. "We won't. A private tour sounds much more fun."

Robin scowls. "She never said private."

I giggle slightly. "Let Kid Flirt be."

Aqualad sighs. "Team building. We'll all go."

The six of us start back into the cave. Robin punches Kid Flash as he walks past.

If Miss Martian hears our conversation, she hugely ignores it. "So this would be our front door."

* * *

I lightly sock his arm before leaning in to whisper. "I said leave Kid Flirt alone, Circus Boy."

"And Batman said to keep that on the DL, Circus Girl."

I groan. "Don't call me that, Rob. You know how much I hate that."

"Then don't call me a circus boy."

"Will if I want to!" I reach over and tickle him.

"Stop it, Jay!" Robin says through his laughter.

"Make me." I dare.

"Twins, calm it down."

Robin and I look up at Aqualad. "Sorry." We say simultaneously.

' _How did he know?_ '

' _Batman probably told the league when he took us in._ '

' _Then Aquaman told Aqualad when they started working together._ '

"You two are twins?"

We nod simultaneously. I smirk. "An asterous Dynamic Duo all on our own."

Robin nods. "Batman makes it a trio."

I smile at Robin before continuing. "Some of Gotham's rogues call us the Twin Wonders. Others insist on Boy Wonder and Girl Wonder."

Robin sighs. "The joker used to call us the Twin Blunders. Now it's the Wonder Twins."

"Makes me feel like we should be Wonder Woman's protégé's instead of Batman's." I sigh. "Not surprising that I'd rather be called the Girl Blunder than Wonder Girl."

Miss Martian nods. "I can see your point."

* * *

Miss Martian finishes the tour on a cliff. "And this would be the back. The cave is actually the entire mountain."

We head back inside. "It was hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the league.

Superboy asks the big question. "Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?"

Aqualad gives him the answer we're all waiting for. "The cave's secret location was compromised."

"So they traded it for a tourist trap? Yeah, that makes sense."

I scoff. "Tell me about it."

Miss Martian touches her fingers to her chin. "If villains know of the cave, we must be on constant alert."

Robin grabs her hand. "The bad guys know we know they know about the place."

I nod. "They'd never look here."

Miss Martian turns to us, confused.

Kid Flash lays a hand on Robin's. "He means we're hiding in plain sight."

"Ah, that's much clearer." She puts a hand to her forehead.

Superboy sniffs the air. "I smell smoke."

Miss Martian gasps. "My cookies." She flies off toward the kitchen and telekinetically takes a tray of burnt cookies out of the oven.

We all run in after her. Kid Flash eyes them curiously. "I was trying our Grammy Jones' recipe from episode seventeen of—uh, heh. Never mind."

Robin leans closer to her as I lay a hand on her arm. "I bet they'd have tasted great."

The three of us turn at a crunching sound. I smirk. "KF doesn't seem to mind."

Kid Flash gives us a sheepish look. "I have a serious metabolism."

I shrug. "I know."

"I'll make more?" She smiles sheepishly.

"It was sweet of you to make any."

"Thanks, Aqualad."

"We're off-duty. Call me Kaldur'Ahm." He lays a hand on his chest before lowering it. "Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."

Kid Flash lowers the burnt cookie he's eating. "I'm Wally." He leans on one elbow on the counter. "See—I already trust you with my secret ID…unlike Mr. and Ms. Dark Glasses over here." He leans forward on the counter as Robin and I glare at him. "Batman's forbidden the twin wonders from telling anyone their real names."

"Mine's no secret. It's M'gann M'orzz." She puts her hands on her hips before relaxing. "But you can call me Megan. It's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now."

Superboy stands from where he's leaning of the counter behind us, then walks away.

" _Don't worry, Superboy._ "

Superboy gasps and turns to glare at us all.

" _We'll find you an Earth name too._ "

Superboy raises a hand to his head. "Get out of my head!" He throws the hand down violently.

" _What's wrong? I don't understand._ " Everyone but Superboy grimaces in pain. Wally and Robin grab their heads in pain. " _Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically._ " Kaldur reaches up and lays a hand on his head.

"M'gann, stop." Kaldur says forcefully. He softens his voice. "Things are different on Earth. Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."

"Besides, Cadmus' creepy little…" Wally raises his hand to cover his mouth, forgetting that Superboy has super hearing. "Psychic G-Gnomes left a bad taste in his brain."

"I didn't mean to—"

Superboy scowls. "Just stay out." He walks away.

"Hello, Megan. I know what we can do." She flies out of the room, over the counter. Robin shrugs, then the boys follow after her.

* * *

"M'gann?"

"Yes, Blue Jay?"

"Robin and I have our own special form of telepathy."

"Really?"

Robin nods. "All twins do."

"Then why did my telepathy hurt you?"

I sigh. "Different. It's not something we're used to."

"Martian telepathy isn't the same as twin telepathy, M'gann."

* * *

M'gann steps up to the doorway. "Superboy, please?"

"Don't talk to me."

M'gann looks at the floor. After a moment, he looks back and finds her still in the doorway. He then stands and walks over to her.

* * *

We take an elevator down to a large room. The only thing occupying the room is a large red oval. "It's my Martian bio-ship."

"Cute." Kid Flash motions to the oval. "Not aerodynamic, but cute."

M'gann motions to the oval behind her. "It's at rest, Silly." She holds up a hand. "I'll wake it."

The red oval shape-shifts into a large ship, then turns it to where the door is facing us.

"Cool."

She steps toward it before turning back to us. "Well, are you coming?"

Robin and I share a look, his confused and mine excited, then we all head inside. Chairs shape-shift out of the floor. "Whoa."

"Strap in for launch."

Robin and Wally grin to each other before they head for opposite ends of the room. I run after Robin, and giggle slightly at his reaction when the chair sucks him in and the belt forms around him. "Oh!"

"Cool."

I sit down and allow the bio-ship to buckle me in. "Welcome to Alien Technology 101." I giggle.

M'gann sits in the driver's seat. "Red Tornado, please open the bay doors."

The doors open. Two glowing orbs appear, and M'gann uses them to steer the ship out.

I squeal, more out of excitement then fear, as the bio-ship flips over and does a barrel roll.

Robin turns to us. "Incredible."

Wally sighs as he stares at M'gann. "She sure is." He suddenly realizes what he's saying when M'gann turns to him. "I-I mean, the ship, which, like all ships is a she."

I giggle. " Smooth, KF. Real smooth."

"Fast with his feet, not so much with his mouth."

M'gann turns to us.

"Dude!"

Kaldur turns to Superboy. "I may not have psychic powers, but I can tell what you're thinking. You overreacted and you don't know how to apologize. Just say sorry."

Superboy looks at him before turning away.

Robin and I notice that M'gann is watching Superboy. "He'll come around."

"He doesn't seem to like me much."

I smile gently. "M'gann, he's just shy. A lot of boys are."

Wally leans on one elbow. "You guys remember he has super hearing, right?"

We all turn to Superboy for a second, then Robin and I turn to M'gann. "Hey, how bout showing us a little Martian shape-shifting?"

M'gann stands and steps to the middle of the ship. She starts to change her color, first to a female version of Robin, then an older version of me, then a female version of Kid Flash.

"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?"

I roll my eyes. Dick chooses the weirdest people for friends...probably part of the reason I don't have many of my own... "Uh, _yes_."

Robin claps his hands. "Impressive. But you know you're not exactly going to fool anyone with those."

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder." She walks over and sits back in the chair.

Kaldur turns to face her. "And your clothes…"

"They're organic, like the ship. They respond to my mental commands."

"As long as they're the only ones."

Wally turns to her. "Can you do that ghosting through walls thing that Manhunter does?"

She gives him a confused look. "Density-shifting? N-no. it's a very advanced technique."

Robin sits forward. "Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall." He laughs. "When he tries it, bloody nose."

"Dude!"

"Here's one thing I can do." She camouflages the bio-ship. "Camouflage mode."

"Red Tornado to Miss Martian."

Robin and I share a look.

"An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest you investigate—covertly. I'm sending coordinates."

"Received. Adjusting course."

"Tornado's keeping us busy again."

"Well, a simple fire lead you to Superboy."

"Everyone believes the crazy ex-sidekick that wouldn't join us." I sigh. "Ever think that just maybe there's _actually_ trouble somewhere, trouble that _we_ can help with?" They all turn to look at me. I shrug back at them. "And M'gann is right. Don't listen to Speedy anymore."

M'gann and I share a look. "We should find out what caused the alert."

Superboy looks out the window. "I think I know the cause."

We all look over to see a tornado. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing, my two main fears still not allowing me to keep from panicking.

' _Jay?_ '

' _You know I'm scared of tornadoes._ '

' _Just try to stay whelmed._ '

' _I am whelmed, Rob, I am._ ' I take another deep breath. "Let's take care of this fiasco."

Camouflage shorts out as we get sucked into the tornado. Since I'm closest to Robin, he rests a hand on my shoulder. ' _Try to stay traught. We're okay._ '

' _Staying traught._ '

Robin nods. ' _Good. Now, remember the drill._ '

We all groan, feeling the stress of the tornado on the bio-ship. M'gann closes her eyes and sends a stronger pulse through the orbs, causing them to glow brighter, and we fly out of the tornado. M'gann lands the bio-ship and we all jump out the bottom.

* * *

THIRD POV

Screams come from the factory.

"Robin, Blue Jay, are tornadoes common in New England? Robin? Blue Jay?" Aqualad looks around for us.

They hear laughter from the factory.

"They were just here."

They look up to see the windows in the factory blowing out.

* * *

NORMAL POV

Inside, a robot in a scarf uses a tornado to slam Robin and I into the wall. We fall with a groan as our friends run in.

Superboy jumps and lands beside Robin. "Who's your new friend?"

I sit up and shrug. "Didn't catch his name."

Robin sits up. "But he plays kinda rough."

"You okay, Rob?"

"Fine, Jay."

"My apologies. You may address me as Mr. Twister." He fires two tornadoes toward Superboy, making it hard for him to run. He then catches Superboy into a twister and slams him into a wall.

M'gann turns to see him fall to the ground beside a metal railing, then turns to Kaldur and Wally. Wally pulls out a spare pair of goggles. Robin stands to his feet with a hand on his stomach, then reaches down to help me up. M'gann gives Kaldur a look, and he nods slightly. She nods in reply.

Wally starts running for the robot as M'gann starts flying for him.

I give Robin a look. ' _Time for the Twin Wonders?_ '

' _Why not?_ '

' _Bruce and Alfred, for starters._ '

Wally does a flip and kicks the robot in his face, but the robot sends him flying out the door. He then turns and sees Kaldur and M'gann coming for him, and sends them flying as well. Kaldur hits a pillar while M'gann hits the floor right behind me.

Robin scowls before pulling out two of his explosive bird-a-rangs behind his back. I reach under my hoodie and pull out two of my own explosive bird-a-rangs before hiding them behind my back as well.

"I was prepared to be challenged by a superhero. I was not, however, expecting children."

Robin and I strike together. "We're not children!" We each throw two explosive bird-a-rangs toward Mr. Twister. Mr. twister creates another tornado. The first two hit the tornado, causing it to blow up and fade away.

Our second explosive bird-a-rangs hits Mr. Twister's chest, and he flicks them off.

"Objectively, you are." The explosive bird-a-rangs blow up harmlessly away from the robot. "Have you no adult supervision? I find your presence here quite disturbing."

We all gather together, minus Wally, who is still face-first in the dirt outside.

"Well, we'd hate to see you disturbed. Let's see if you're more turbed once we kick your can!"

M'gann holds up her hands, then pulls them back forcefully, causing the metal contraption above Mr. Twister to open up and cascade dust and debris over him.

Mr. Twister roars and sends two tornadoes at us. Superboy, who was hanging onto a metal railing connected to a catwalk, is sent flying right as M'gann takes off, causing the two to crash into each other, then into a wall. Kaldur prepares an electrical attack, only for him, Robin, and I to be blown back when he slams his hands into the ground and creates two low twisters. While I manage to stick close to the Earth, Kaldur and Robin are slammed into each other.

I stand and dust myself off. ' _Okay, I'll be the first to say this isn't working._ '

' _Then I guess I'm the second, because this is_ not _working._ '

"Indeed, that was quite turbing. Thank you." He rises into the air and flies off.

I look around and growl threateningly in his general direction, then turn to my friends. "Everyone okay?" They slowly look up at me.

Robin looks around before nodding. "We're all right, Jay. What about you?"

"Fine, Rob.

* * *

Outside, Wally is just coming around. He sees Mr. Twister leave the building, and runs over to where he's right in front of the robot. He does a couple sped-up rolls to dodge, then glares at the robot. "What have you done to my team?"

"Embarrassed them, largely."

He creates a tornado, sucking in the speedster. When it hits the building, it turns to a cloud of dust. M'gann catches him with telekinesis, and reveals Wally is floating, curled in a ball in preparation to meet the wall.

"I got you, Wally."

"Oh. Thanks." He stands back up as she releases him.

Mr. Twister turns to us. "I would have thought you had _all_ learned you limitations by now."

Kaldur steps forward. "What do you want!"

Mr. Twister flies into the air. "Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for a real hero."

I glare up at him. "Well, you _got_ them." The others turn to me. "Raw, untrained power can be used in ways the trained guys can no longer access." I smirk. "And I plan to blow _him_ away." I turn back to the robot. "Holding out for a hero, huh? Well, time to learn the true meaning of _hero_."

Kaldur turns to M'gann. "Read his mind, find a weakness."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that."

Robin snaps at her. "It's okay with the bad guys!"

M'gann touches her forehead and focuses. "Nothing. I'm getting nothing." She slaps her forehead. "Hello, Megan! Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise! He's inorganic. An android. How many androids do you know that can generate tornadoes?"

Kaldur's eyes widen. "Red Tornado sent us here."

Robin scowls. "After saying we'd be tested soon enough. This is his test." He throws his arms out. "Something to keep us busy."

Wally looks down. "Speedy called it. We're a joke."

Kaldur slams a fist into his hand.

"This game, so over." The three boys storm toward Mr. Twister.

I look closer at the robot's appearance. "Black accents, not yellow. Blue tubes coming out of his back. The scarf…" I shake my head. "No. He's _not_ Red Tornado."

Robin points a finger at Mr. Twister. "We know who you are, and what you want."

Kaldur spreads his arms. "So let's end this."

Mr. Twister glares down at the trio. "Consider it ended." He creates a huge storm by sending two twisters from his hands toward the sky. The tornadoes cross, and a third forms between them. I take a deep breath before looking up. ' _Your friends are in danger. Fear has_ no place _on the battlefield._ '

Kaldur glares up at him. "An impressive show, but we will not indulge you. We will not engage."

An open eye forms, thunder crashes, and lightning strikes.

Wally gives us a nervous look. "Uh, can Red Tornado…do that?"

"You think I'm Tornado? Ironic." A lightning bolt rushes toward us and sends us flying backward.

Superboy rips off his shredded jacket and jumps for the robot, only to get hit by lightning. He falls to the Earth and carves a ditch from the fall, stopping beside all of us.

' _It's not Tornado._ ' I shake off the shock of watching the robot take down my friends and look around.

M'gann wakes up and brushes her hair back. She then sits on her knees and looks toward the sky.

Mr. Twister floats down to us with lightning sizzling from his fingers and spreading through the sky. He suddenly floats back up. "Fine, then. I won't deny you children have power."

Wally comes around, and M'gann clamps a hand over his mouth.

"Playing hide-and-seek with you will not help me achieve my objectives. So stay concealed. If you confront me again, I will show no mercy." Mr. Twister flies away.

M'gann and I watch him fly away.

Wally sits up. "What happened?"

"I placed the bio-ship between us."

Superboy punches the dirt he's up to the waist in and shouts frustratedly. "That supposed to make it right? you tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado."

The other boys surround her. I stand in front of her. "Superboy, stand down. He's not Tornado, which means we have to stop him."

Kaldur steps up behind us. "Blue Jay's right. M'gann didn't do it on purpose."

I lay a hand on M'gann's shoulder. "And M'gann saved our lives."

Robin steps up beside me. "It was a rookie mistake. We shouldn't have listened."

I step up toward Superboy. "We both made a mistake. I should have spoken up sooner. I should have told more than Robin..."

Wally shrugs at her. "You are pretty inexperienced. Hit the showers. We'll take it from here."

Superboy walks in front of the two. "Stay out of our way."

I kneel to M'gann. "You'll get there. You just need to train—we all need to train. We're a new team. We're all rookies." I stand and look after the boys as they all run after Mr. Twister. Superboy jumps while Wally starts running. "We'll get there." I run over to catch up with Robin.

"I was just trying to be part of the team." M'gann looks at the ground.

Kaldur rubs the back of his head. "To be honest, I'm not sure we really have a team." He starts to run after us.

Two tornadoes are terrorizing the city and harbor. People run and scream as boats crash onto the land. Soon, a third tornado takes out a house. "Certainly, this will get the required attention."

"You got ours, full and undivided." Wally runs up to Mr. Twister and kicks him in the face, causing him to slide back a couple feet.

"Immaterial and insufficient. You are a distraction I can no longer tolerate."

Superboy screams as he lands, barely missing Mr. Twister. The robot slides back several feet, then creates two tornadoes and sends them toward Superboy.

* * *

 **WITH MISS MARTIAN**

M'gann contacts Red Tornado as she flies the bio-ship back to the cave. "The team really needs your help."

"If I intervened, it would not be to help. Still, it is an odd coincidence that this Twister shares my elemental abilities, and my immunity to telepathy."

M'gann hits her head suddenly. "Hello, Megan!"

* * *

 **WITH US**

Robin, Kaldur, and I arrive on scene. We run up onto a vehicle before jumping off, Robin and I doing our famous quadruple flip as we do. Mr. Twister spins around, controlling a twister. Kaldur turns and barely avoids it, only to be picked up by another and flung. He hits the porch of a nearby beach house.

Wally runs over, only to get lifted by a tornado himself. Once he hits the ground, he rolls, gets back to his feet, and runs.

Robin and I activate some of our explosive bird-a-rangs and throw them into the tornado chasing us, causing it to go off course and disperse. Robin then throws three flash grenades at Mr. Twister. They destroy the tornado and distract Mr. Twister as they were made to do. The distraction is enough for Superboy to almost get a good hit from above. Mr. Twister creates another tornado and sends Superboy flying through the air. I pull out two of my own flash grenades and throw them belatedly at Mr. Twister.

Mr. Twister uses a small tornado to pick up a boat tied to the docks and fling it after him.

Kaldur comes to in a pile of debris from the two story beach house, right as Superboy starts to land. He gets out of the way right before Superboy lands, the boat getting too close for comfort. The house's last support is knocked loose when Superboy lands, and the house collapses seconds before the boat lands.

' _Sure hope no one was inside…_ '

' _I'm sure they're all out here…_ '

' _Running for their lives, no doubt. I feel kind of sorry for them, Dick. They lost everything._ '

' _Not everything. Not their family._ '

' _You sound like Batman, Dick._ '

Kaldur picks up the motor and flings it at Mr. Twister, causing him to fling it away with a tornado.

Robin is hiding behind a damaged, nose-in-the-ground boat. I join him seconds before Wally darts over.

Wally backs up against the boat and glances around the corner, then back at Robin, who is pulling his utility belt out of his pocket. "You brought your utility belt?"

""Never leave home without it." First thing Batman taught us." Robin clips his utility belt over one shoulder.

Wally laughs. "Yeah, right after, "Never go to the bathroom without it."

"Wally, don't pick on the guy. He's not the only one with backup weapons on him." I giggle softly as I clip my own utility belt over my own left shoulder.

" _Listen to me, all of you._ " Wally, Robin, and I grab our heads as the telepathic message comes in from M'gann.

Kaldur lands beside Superboy as he throws the last of the rubble off him. "What did we tell you?"

" _I know, and I know I messed up. But now I'm very clear on what we need to do. Please, trust me._ "

* * *

People around are running for their lives. A police officer attempts to manage the chaos. "Get back! Everyone clear the area!" More people run as someone looking like Red Tornado flies in. one man stops to look up.

"Hit the showers, boys."

I glare at the offending robot, knowing instantly that it's not all it seems. "I'm _not_ a boy!" ' _And Red Tornado doesn't fly like that._ '

"I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly you cannot."

Robin throws out his hands. "But we've got a plan now."

I elbow him in the side. "Red Tornado doesn't fly like that, not as far as I know."

"The Subject is not up for debate."

The five of us walk away, with me sticking close to Robin, trying to explain things.

"I was beginning to believe you'd never show up."

"I'm here now."

'Tornado' creates a tornado behind him and sends it at Twister, who dodges and creates another one. He sends it toward 'Tornado', only for it to be dispersed.

"We are evenly matched, Twister."

He creates a tornado behind him and sends it toward Twister.

"No, Tornado, we are not."

Twister punches the ground, sending a blast of air up, then activates the electricity in his hands. He fires a bolt toward 'Tornado', who dodges, even as Twister follows him with the blast. Soon, a damaged boat is blown up, and 'Tornado' is hit. He flies back, electricity crackling.

"Remain still, android." Cables come out of his fingers and attach to Tornado's head. "The reprograming won't take long.

I glance nervously to Superboy.

'Tornado' reaches up and grabs the cables before turning his head to look at Twister. Within seconds, M'gann's face appears where Tornado's had been. "Longer than you might think." She holds tight to the cables.

"No."

Wally runs fast enough to create a tornado behind Twister, proving that the tornadoes had been him at the same time that he pushes Twister back. Superboy runs up behind Twister and punches him in the back, then in the chest several times, punching hard enough to seriously damage the robot. With one more punch, Twister is down. He bounces off the edge of the dock and falls into the water. There, Kaldur hits him in the chest with an anchor, then shocks him, causing an explosion and snapping off an arm. Twister splashes out of the water.

M'gann lifts him into the air with her telekinesis, then spreads her arms apart, snapping off his other arm and sending another shock through him. Robin and I then run over, each holding three explosive bird-a-rangs. We activate them before throwing them up to the robot. All six hit true to their target, and the damaged Twister hits the ground, smoke pouring from his wounds. He pushes himself up to his knees and looks at the five of us on the ground. Wally pulls his goggles up as M'gann lands.

The chest plating of the robot opens, revealing what appears to be a human, who promptly falls flat on his face. "Foul. I call foul."

M'gann and Kaldur step up. M'gann reaches an arm out and picks up a rock before moving to throw it on the man.

"Kaldur steps quickly, trying to stop her. "M'gann, no!"

She smashes the man with the rock. Robin and Wally look horrified and surprised respectively. Robin then glares at M'gann as Kaldur steps up behind her.

"Don't know how things are done on Mars, but on Earth we don't execute our captives."

I step over and rest a hand on Robin's shoulder. "But there's more to what you see than meets the eye."

"You said you'd trust me." M'gann smirks and lifts the rock off the supposed man, revealing him to be a robot as well. She points to the mess of metal. "That's why I couldn't read his mind."

Wally kneels to the ground and picks up an eye. "Cool. Souvenir." He flicks it into the air and catches it.

Kaldur rests a hand on M'gann's shoulder. "We should have had more faith in you."  
M'gann smiles.

"Yeah. You rocked this mission. Get it? Rocked? Heh."

"Yeah, Wally, we get it." I laugh slightly in spite of myself.

"Ignore him." Robin steps over. "We're just all turbed you're on the team."

"Thanks. Me too."

* * *

Back in the cave, we meet with Tornado. Kaldur starts to explain what happened. "It was clearly created to sabotage or destroy you."

"Agreed."

M'gann looks up to Tornado. "Is that why you wouldn't help us?"

"No. this was your battle. I do not believe it is my role to solve your problems for you. Nor should you solve mine for me."

We all look up from where Robin and I are analyzing the remains of the smaller robot.

M'gann speaks up. "But if you're in danger—"

"We're not going to let you get killed."

"Consider this matter closed." Tornado turns to walk away.

Wally, Robin, and I step over. "Batman, Aquaman, and Flash, they'd have jumped right in to fix things."

"Guess if we're gonna have a babysitter, a heartless machine is exactly what we need."

I glare at Robin before socking him in the arm. "Offensive much?"

"Dude, harsh."

"And inaccurate. I have a heart. Carbon-steel alloy. I also have excellent hearing."

"Ha, right. sorry. I'll strive to be more accurate."

Kaldur steps over and lays a hand on his shoulder. "And more respectful."

I cross my arms before smirking. "And more polite."

Tornado heads off down the hall as M'gann and I stare after him.

I glance back down the hall before falling into step with the boys.

"Speedy was so wrong."

"This team thing?"

"Might just work out."

Superboy glances at M'gann. "Sorry." He then follows us down the hall.

M'gann smiles.

* * *

I knock on the door to the room I had seen the robot enter. "Tornado?" I hear a sound. "I know you don't want us to fight your battles for you, but you know what Rob and I have been through. I will protect those I love, even if it gets me killed. My life is a small price to pay for other's safety."


End file.
